Home secy takes stock of screening procedure at land border points

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Thursday reviewed the status of the screening procedure of people coming from the neighbouring countries through land borders in view of the coronavirus threat and urged officials to ensure round-the-clock deployment of doctors at the entry points, officials said.

He also held a video conference with the chief secretaries, DGPs and other senior officials of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Punjab, besides the director general of the BSF and the SSB, to take stock of the situation and steps being taken to check every person entering the country through the land border posts.

Bhalla reviewed the status of the screening of people coming from the neighbouring countries through the land borders, a home ministry official said.

The state governments were informed that a regular screening was being done by doctors at various transit points and the people living along the international borders were sensitised through gram sabhas.

Bhalla urged all the officials to ensure round-the-clock deployment of doctors so that a full screening was done without fail, the official said.

On Wednesday, the home ministry announced that a full medical check-up and scanning were being carried out at all land ports in the country, including Atari, Dera Baba Nanak and Agartala, to detect suspected coronavirus cases among the incoming passengers.

The ministry said the land ports under its control had fully-equipped medical teams present to screen all incoming passengers from the neighbouring countries.

Pilgrims visiting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan cross over through Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab. Both Dera Baba Nanak and Atari are located in Punjab along the Indo-Pak border.

The home ministry said India was well-prepared to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Medical check-up points have also been set up at the integrated check posts (ICPs) at Petrapole (West Bengal) and Agartala. Both Petrapole and Agartala are located along the Indo-Bangladesh border.

The ministry said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is organising training programmes at the Atari, Dera Baba Nanak, Petrapole and Agartala ICPs.

A total of 30 people, including 16 Italian tourists, have tested positive for coronavirus in India. The list includes the first three cases in the country from Kerala last month. The three persons have been discharged following recovery.